Chapter VII: Yachting in New Zealand

BY THE EARL OF ONSLOW, G.C.M.G., &c.

As has already been said, there exists every facility in our Australasian Colonies both for cruising and racing. These colonial waters are indeed the only ones in the world where yachting can be enjoyed among our fellow-countrymen on summer seas and in a temperate climate during that portion of the year when yachts are laid up in the mud in England and yachtsmen shiver in the bitter winds, the fogs and frosts of Northern Europe.

The travelling yachtsman may either take out his yacht with him, if she be large enough, or if this be deemed to involve too great trouble and expense, he will find but little difficulty in making arrangements to hire a comfortable craft at the Antipodes.

The southern coast of Australia, though it possesses many beautiful harbours, is washed by the great rollers of the Pacific, coming up through the 'roaring forties' without anything to break their force, straight from Antarctic regions, to dash themselves in mile-long breakers against the Australian coast. Yachting is therefore better confined to the sheltered harbours, and specially to those which have been selected for the sites of the capital cities of Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

No more lovely sea exists in the world on which to cruise than that part of the eastern coast of the Australian continent, sheltered as it is from ocean storms by the Great Barrier Reef, extending for miles from Rockhampton to Cape York, along the Queensland coast. Numberless coral islands, the roosting places of countless Torres Straits pigeons that spend the hours of daylight feeding on the mainland, afford abundant sport for the gunner. These pigeons are quick-flying black-and-white birds about the size of the blue rock; they twist and turn in their flight with great rapidity, and tax the gunner's quickness of eye and hand not less than the best blue rocks from the pigeon-cotes of Mr. Hammond. Unfortunately this long stretch of calm blue water is beset with perils from coral reefs so numerous that the traveller is lost in admiration at the skill of Captain Cook as well as at the good fortune which enabled him, in complete ignorance of the dangers now carefully marked on our charts, to escape with but one mishap. Among the apt terms which he applied in all his nomenclature only one, Cape Tribulation, bears witness to the risks which he ran.

Still, an enterprising yachtsman, choosing the time of year when the monsoon, blowing softly on these confines of its influence, is in the favourable direction, may start from any of the ports touched by vessels of the British India Steamship Company, and, by careful study of the chart coupled with information obtained from local mariners, may enjoy without great risk a prolonged cruise amid tropical scenery and vegetation as far south even as Brisbane.

It is to New Zealand, however, that the yachtsman will turn as the paradise of his sport--abounding in harbours, offering every variety of climate from semi-tropical Auckland to the equable temperature of Cook's Strait, and on to the colder harbours of Stewart's Island--he will find as great variety in scenery as in climate. But let him not imagine that after cruising in Australian waters he may trust himself to the tender mercies of the Tasman Sea, or cross to New Zealand in a small yacht. No more terrible sea exists in either hemisphere.

Once arrived in the harbour of Auckland, however, the potentialities which lie before the amateur navigator are boundless. As he passes down the coast from the lighthouse on Cape Maria van Diemen, he will see the entrance to the singular harbour of Whangaroa, where masses of limestone rock lay piled one above another, dominated by the cupola-shaped dome of Mount St. Paul. Either this or the historically more interesting Bay of Islands may be visited in a yacht from Auckland. The Bay of Islands is one of the most beautiful yachting bays in the colony. It has a width of ten miles at the entrance, and is divided in two by a peninsula, while, with the exception of the Onslow Pinnacle rock, which has 19 feet on it at low water, it is devoid of all dangers. Here is the scene of the earliest settlement of the colony. In this bay the fleets of whalers, who trafficked in dried and tattooed human heads, and who had dealings of all kinds with the Maories (not always the most reputable), conducted a lucrative business, which has now ceased entirely.

Here the first missionaries established themselves, and here was signed the treaty with the natives which brought the islands under the sovereignty of the Queen, a sovereignty which was not to remain undisputed, save after many bloody contests, and after a loss of life and treasure which still burdens the New Zealander with a load of war taxation, happily not imposed on his neighbour of the Australian continent. In this bay many days may profitably be spent in studying the interesting Maori tribes who dwell on its shores, and of whom none have stood more loyally by the English settlers than those who fought under Tamati Waka Nene. Every sort of provision may be obtained in the bay from the once flourishing town of Russell, while a sufficiently good cheap coal may be procured at Opua.

It is around the harbour of Auckland, in the Hauraki Gulf, and the Firth of Thames, however, that the perfection of yachting may be enjoyed. As the traveller approaches the earlier capital of New Zealand he will observe how the aptly named Great and Little Barrier Islands protect the Gulf from the heavy seas of the Pacific, and as the steamer wends its way through the islands that dot the Gulf and opens up the land-locked Firth of Thames on one side and the Waitemata Harbour on the other, he will realise the advantages afforded by the situation of Auckland.

Two comfortable and well-managed clubs exercise the proverbial hospitality of colonists to properly accredited arrivals from England. In addition to which the Auckland Yacht Club is an association from which all information as to both cruising and racing will readily be obtained.

The history of yachting in New Zealand is of but recent date; for, although for many years races have taken place and regattas been held annually, the competitors were rather the cutters, schooners, and scows that did the coasting trade of the colony before the Union Steamship Company inaugurated their line of well-found, fast and regular coasting steamers to and from every port of New Zealand. These were assisted by the boats and crews of Her Majesty's ships, whose presence was, and still is, ardently in request on Regatta days. The era of pleasure yachts dates from the last eight or ten years, and the Auckland Yacht Club now occupies, in the number of yachts belonging to the squadron, the first place among the Australasian Colonies. The club has one hundred members and the register of yachts exceeds sixty, which does not by any means exhaust the number of vessels used solely as pleasure-boats in the harbour.

Colonial yachts, like the great majority of colonial incomes, are not large, and nearly all the boats used are built locally. Shipbuilding is a trade extensively carried on at Auckland. During the year 1875, when the prosperity of that part of the colony was at its highest, not less than forty vessels were built, their aggregate tonnage being 1,930. A few steam yachts, such as the 'Sunbeam,' the 'St. George,' and the R.Y.S. schooner 'Blanche' with auxiliary screw, used by Sir James Fergusson when Governor of the colony, have cruised in New Zealand waters; but a vessel of 20 tons burden is considered among the Tritons of colonial pleasure craft. The 'Thetis,' a small yacht of 10 or 12 tons, was built on the Clyde, and was brought out by five gentlemen, her owners, to the Antipodes.

Perhaps the most interesting yacht now sailing in New Zealand waters is the 'Mascotte,' both on account of the circumstances under which she was built, as well as for the remarkable success which has attended her during her sailing career.

In the year 1890 a strike in the shipping trade broke out in Australia, and after a few days was extended to other trades connected with shipping, finally spreading to New Zealand. During the enforced idleness of certain shipbuilding hands at Lyttelton, the port of Christchurch, some of the men bethought themselves of laying down the lines of a yacht for themselves. The 'Mascotte,' commenced under these circumstances, was found, when finished, to be an exceptionally fast sailer. Within eighteen months of her completion she was manned and sailed by her owners in six regattas, netting for them 395_l._, besides numerous smaller prizes in club races--not a bad outcome of work which, at the time, was doubtless done with no little amount of grumbling, because no wages were coming in weekly on account of it. The result, however, has been a very considerable falling off in the entries for the races last year. For the Champion Cup at Lyttelton only the 'Tarifa,' rated 8, the 'Mima,' 10, and the 'Maritana,' 14, put in an appearance. The First Class Championship race for 100_l._ at Wellington, the capital, was among those secured by the 'Mascotte.'

It is, however, in the cruising opportunities to be found in New Zealand that readers of the Badminton Library will be chiefly interested. Taking Auckland as headquarters, it may safely be asserted that throughout the season the yachtsman may lie in a different creek, harbour, or estuary every night that he is out.

He may coast up the north shore till he reaches Waiwera, where he will find an excellent hotel. He can bathe in a large and luxurious hot swimming bath, formed from the thermal springs rising close to the sea, or he may go on to the beautiful island of Kawau, once the property of Sir George Grey, which has been so graphically described by Mr. Froude in 'Oceana.' He may lie in the harbour of Bon Accord, which indents the island a mile and a half, and affords shelter in all weathers.

On landing he will find planted by the erstwhile owner of Kawau every sort of tree, shrub, and rare plant that will live either at Madeira or the Cape.

He will see the wallaby from Australia, deer, sheep, and wild goats. The beautiful Pohutukawa, or Christmas-tree, covered at Christmas-tide with scarlet blossom, feathering down to the clear blue sea till its lowest branches are covered by the rising tide, so that oysters cluster on them with all the appearance of being the natural fruit. In the rocky depths of the clear water great lazy stingarees may be seen floating along with the tide, like sheets of brown paper flapping idly from side to side in the tide race. A perfectly appointed English country gentleman's house fronts the harbour. Its lawn and park-like slopes are timbered with the forest trees of Europe. The opossum of Australia may be seen nimbly springing from the boughs of an English oak to those of the silver tree of South Africa, the whole being a combination of the flora and fauna of all continents, bewildering to the brain of the naturalist.

As the total population of the island is thirty-two, and consists of the family and dependents of the owner, visitors, unless they wish to run the risk of abusing hospitality which is always cordially accorded, must bring a sufficiency of provisions with them.

The Little Barrier Island, though possessing no harbour, has several yachting anchorages. It is uninhabited, and is chiefly interesting from the fact that it is the last remaining stronghold of many rare species of New Zealand birds. This is attributable in some degree to its distance from the mainland. The bee has not found its way across to Little Barrier, and the honey-eating birds, driven away from elsewhere by the stings of bees seeking a common food, have made this island their last habitat. It is greatly to be hoped that the New Zealand Government will complete the pending negotiations for its purchase from the natives, so that it may be made into a national park for the preservation of these unique ornithological specimens.

Great Barrier Island is larger than the Isle of Wight, being 21 miles long. It is about eight miles eastward of the Little Barrier, and possesses in Port Fitzroy one of the finest harbours in New Zealand. Yachts enter by a channel 1-1/4 mile wide, pass under a remarkable rock resembling the Duke of Wellington's head, and come to Governor's Pass, a narrow channel, 178 feet across, which opens out into an inner harbour three miles in length and more than half a mile wide, surrounded on all sides by high mountains which give complete security from every wind. The harbour is full of fish of every kind, from the little New Zealand herring to the flat stingaree resembling an enormous skate with a formidable spiked tail. Unless the fisherman cuts this off before he proceeds to deal with the fish, he may find one blow from it compel him to seek for several weeks an asylum in the Auckland Hospital. If the yachtsman has on board a seine net, he may realise something of the miraculous draught of fishes mentioned in the Bible. Let him also bring his rifle, for the island is swarming with wild goats, and if he can steel his heart against the piercing and humanlike screams to which they give utterance when wounded, he may, by getting up to the highest ground and stalking them down the mountain-sides, secure more than he will find it possible to get back to his yacht, be he never so impervious to powerful odours. He will, moreover, earn the gratitude of the settlers by so doing, for the goats eat not a little of that pasture which would more profitably be utilised in affording sustenance to the domestic sheep of the island farmers.

Many years ago Selwyn Island, at the entrance to the harbour, was stocked with the large silver-grey rabbit, and a good day's shooting may still be had among them, though the skins are no longer of the great value they were when first acclimatised.

Having explored the creeks of the Waitemata, which open into the harbour of Auckland to the north, the yachtsman may proceed to cruise in the southern waters of the Hauraki Gulf. On his way he may run in for a few hours to one of the Maori villages, where he will find some very well-to-do natives, owners of valuable property close to Auckland, but who still practise all the old-fashioned Maori customs of cooking and manufacture. He will be interested, too, in the long war canoe with its carved prow, one of the few now remaining in New Zealand.

All the islands between the mouth of the gulf and the Firth of Thames are interesting. The most remarkable in appearance is Rangitoto, guarding the entrance to the Auckland harbour. In shape it is a perfect cone. The mountain is an extinct volcano, rising to a height of 920 feet, and presents a precisely similar appearance from whatever aspect it is regarded. The summit of the mountain is composed of masses of scoria, but there is no fresh water on the island. Rangitoto is connected by a sandy neck, a quarter of a mile long, dry at high water, with Motu Tapu, the Sacred Island. Whatever odour of sanctity may have attached to it in earlier days, it is now the island most profaned by the feet of Auckland yachtsmen. Herds of deer scamper across its grassy slopes, and afford excellent stalking to the hospitable owner and his guests. No one who takes care to keep on the shores of the island and refrain from disturbing the deer is likely to be forbidden to shoot a few rabbits. From some of the higher points round the coast he may espy the acclimatised emus stalking over the hills; the pheasants feeding round the edges of the patches of woodland, and the flocks of turkeys, once tame, but which now require the persuasion of the fowling-piece before they can be brought to table.

From the Thames the yacht may be taken round to the harbour of Tauranga; this is a quiet and comfortable little town, the harbour land-locked by an island running down to meet a sandy spit. From this spit rises the Mawayanui Rock, 860 ft. in height, conspicuous for miles, both from the land and sea sides of the harbour.

The entrance is tortuous, narrow in places, and liable to gusts and eddies when the wind is blowing from the sea, but of considerable capacity inside. Tauranga is close to the scene of a conflict between the Maories and English troops, in which the 68th Regiment lost more officers than did any regiment at Waterloo. It is the best harbour whence to visit the volcano of White Island, and is the nearest also to the Maori Settlements, the hot lakes and springs of the interior of the North Island.

White Island is sixty miles off, and the steam blowing off the crater to a height varying from 2,000 to 10,000 feet is clearly visible in fine weather. This island is well worth a visit, though great care must be exercised in landing, for the whole island is so hot that walking is not pleasant, while the clouds of sulphurous steam blowing to leeward are suffocating. It is about three miles in circumference, having in the centre a crater about a hundred yards in circumference, surrounded by steam geysers, which make a roaring, deafening noise, like a hundred engines massed in one engine-room. Although there is no vegetation on the island, the base of the crater gives the appearance of a well-watered meadow in spring. This effect is produced by the bed of crystallised sulphur traversed by the streams from the several geysers. Myriads of sea birds, chiefly gannets, circle round the island, and the remarkable Tuatara lizards may be seen crawling on the hot rocks. There is no harbour in the island, but there is shelter between the principal islet and a little islet half a mile to south-east.

Yachting on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand is less agreeable; there is no convenient centre from which to start on many cruises, and between the harbours are long distances of usually stormy sea.

Once inside the Kaipara Harbour a large expanse of rather uninteresting water is available, but the rivers which flow into it are wide and picturesque, afford excellent wildfowl shooting, and are the home of the trade in Kauri timber. The huge logs are cut up by sawmills with giant circular saws. The trunks of the Kauri trees may be seen floating down the rivers from the forests above till they are caught, as they pass the various mills, by baulks stretched at an angle across the stream to intercept their progress. In the same way, once you get across the bar of the Hokianga River, many days may be spent in the land of oranges and lemons.

Travelling to the southern end of the North Island to the harbour of Port Nicholson, we come to Wellington, the capital, where the Port Nicholson Yacht Club have their headquarters.

An annual regatta is held here in January. The harbour, though magnificent for steamers or vessels of large tonnage, is subject to the gales and sudden squalls which blow through Cook's Strait as through a blast pipe, and therefore not always to be trusted. Not a few sad accidents have happened to small craft sailing on the waters of the harbour.

Most enjoyable excursions may be made from Wellington to the sounds on the northern shores of the South Island, but great care should be exercised in crossing Cook's Strait, though the distance to the first sound is but a few miles. The winds are local, and almost invariably north-west or south-east. Yachts running through the Straits should, therefore, be on the look out for a rapid change from the south-east to north-east, or from north-west to south-west, as they open out either entrance. Queen Charlotte and the Pelorus are the most picturesque of these sounds. They resemble somewhat the fiords of Norway, and though they have not the grandeur of the sounds on the west coast of this island, they are remarkable for the soft green contour of their slopes and the striking contrast between sky, shore, and sea which they present in clear weather.

Picton, at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound, is picturesquely situated, with a good wharf. Like those in the south, the sounds are so deep (20 to 25 fathoms) that, except in the coves, of which, fortunately, there is no lack, vessels have difficulty in finding an anchorage. Like the harbour of Wellington across the strait, these sounds are liable to many gusts from the mountain gullies, and care should be exercised whenever it is known to be blowing hard outside.

Pelorus Sound has even more coves and bays than Queen Charlotte Sound, and no inconsiderable time is necessary to explore the whole of it.

There is abundance of both wood and fresh water; in every part excellent fishing with the line may be had. Most of the catch will be new to English fishermen. Rock cod, blue cod, schnapper, the giant hapuka, a sort of cod, and the game kahawai, which will run like a salmon, are the best from a gastronomical and sporting point of view. Enough has been caught by a single line in a day to feed the whole crew of a man-of-war. Every sort of necessary provision is obtainable both at Havelock and Picton, at the heads of the respective sounds.

From the northern sounds every traveller will wish to proceed through the remarkable French pass to Nelson in Blind Bay. This bay is singularly free from gales and storms. Often, while a hurricane is tearing and raging through Cook's Strait, calm weather will be found to prevail without disturbance in Blind Bay.

The harbour of Nelson is formed by a very remarkable bank 4-1/2 miles in length, covered with huge boulders and forming a natural breakwater to the harbour. There are one or two gaps in the bank at high water where boats and very small vessels may pass over, but the tide runs with such force that it is not advisable to attempt it.

The entrance is not more than 50 yards wide, and lies between the bold pinnacle of the Arrow Rock and the barrel beacon at the edge of the Boulder Bank. The entrance is easily effected on the flood, but the tides run very strong in and out of the narrow entrance. The climate of Nelson is perhaps the most perfect in all New Zealand, and the scenery of the bay, with its blue waters and background of snow-covered mountains in winter and early spring, excels anything that can be seen on the Riviera, while the climate closely resembles that of the French littoral of the Mediterranean; the only unpleasantness being the Waimea wind, felt in early spring down the valley of the Waimea, but it is neither so continuous nor so unpleasant as the Mistral of the Riviera.

Very pleasant expeditions may be made to Motueka and Collingwood, on the opposite shores of the bay. The Californian quail exists in great abundance on these shores; so much so that the little steamers plying weekly bring sackloads of the birds to Nelson, where they are preserved whole in tins for export.

The yachtsman should spend a sufficient length of time in exploring the indentations of the northern coast of the South Island, for next to that of the surroundings of Auckland he is likely to meet with the best weather for his pursuits to be found in New Zealand.

If he then wishes completely to exhaust the opportunities which the colony affords him, he may, choosing a fine day and favourable barometric indications, venture on the ocean to the southward. Let him, however, avoid the west coast, where the harbours are few and far between, and where those that exist are rendered difficult of access, save where great expense (as at Westport and Greymouth) has been incurred by the local authorities to erect breakwaters and dredge the bars. It is noteworthy that the harbours on the west coast of both islands, where they are also the estuaries of rivers, have dangerous shifting sand-bars, while those on the east coast are comparatively free from this objection.

If the yacht be taken down the east coast to Lyttelton, the traveller will pass in full view of the grand range of snow-covered mountains, the Kaikouras. With a north-easterly wind the sea does not get up to any extent, but if it should change to south there is convenient shelter for small craft at Kaikoura.

The harbour of Lyttelton is an indentation of considerable depth and width in Banks Peninsula, which, rising from the flat plains of Canterbury to a height of some 3,000 feet, juts out into the ocean and extends twenty miles from the mainland with an average width of sixteen miles. This peninsula affords plenty of facilities for yachting. Lyttelton has a yacht club, and is connected by eight miles of railway with Christchurch, a town that has always borne the reputation of resembling those of the old country more closely than any other in New Zealand.

Inside the harbour are many pleasant anchorages for yachts, especially Quail Island and Ripa Island; also Governor's Bay, a favourite holiday resort of the people of Christchurch. It should be borne in mind that with a north-easterly wind a heavy swell comes rolling up the harbour, but a secure inner harbour of 107 acres has been formed by moles of rubble, where there is perfect safely for vessels of every kind.

There are many pleasant cruises to be made from Lyttelton to the various bays and harbours in the peninsula, such as to Port Leny and to Pigeon Bay, formerly a favourite station for whaling vessels; but the most interesting as well as the most beautiful is the harbour of the old French settlement of Akaroa. This harbour penetrates the peninsula to a distance of eight miles. The town of Akaroa is the centre of a fine pastoral district, most picturesquely situated on the slopes of green hills turned into fertile gardens. The French language is no longer to be heard in the streets, but the green 'persiennes' and the white fronts of the older houses bear witness to the nationality of their builders. Lucky it was for the Anglo-New Zealander of to-day that Captain Hobson, Lieutenant-Governor at Auckland in 1840, was both of hospitable intent and impressed with the necessity of 'pegging out claims' for the future of the English race. Lucky, too, that Captain Lavand, on his way to prepare for a shipload of French colonists, stayed to enjoy Captain Hobson's hospitality in Auckland, while the latter, having ascertained his guest's intentions, had time to despatch H.M.'s brig 'Britomart' with all possible speed to Akaroa, so that when the gallant Frenchman arrived he found the smart sailors of the 'Britomart' sitting at the foot of a recently erected flagstaff admiring a Union Jack flying from the top; by virtue of which they claimed the South Island of New Zealand for Queen Victoria in the same manner as Captain Hobson had recently done in the case of the North Island. These same French emigrants, stopping at St. Helena on their way out, visited the tomb of Napoleon, and piously preserved sprays cut from the weeping willows that surrounded it. From these sprays, planted and cherished on their arrival at Akaroa, sprang all the beautiful willows which grow with such rapidity, thrive so remarkably, and are so conspicuous a feature throughout New Zealand. In December of every year a regatta is held at Akaroa, and yachts from all parts of New Zealand, as well as boats' crews of one of H.M.'s ships, come to take part in it.

The yachting grounds proper of New Zealand may be said to be completed by the exploration of the peninsula below Christchurch, and yet the most remarkable waters of the colony remain unvisited.

These are the sounds of the south-western extremity of the island. To get to them, however, many miles of open ocean must be sailed over. Rarely does the wind blow from the east, and hard threshing against the wind is the usual condition of sailing from the 'Bluff' to the sounds. When they are reached, the giant mountains which hedge them in on every side shut out from some, for days and weeks together, the least puff of wind to fill the sails of the yacht; while the deep gullies running down the sides of the mountains in others admit sudden and violent gusts of wind full of danger to the small sailing craft.

There are interesting places to be visited on the way, such as the harbours of Timaru and Oamaru, where man at vast labour and expense has wrested from the violence of the ocean a small space of calm water in the long straight coast line, well named the Ninety-mile Beach, on which the rollers break and roar with ceaseless monotony; or the beautiful harbour of Port Chalmers, leading to Dunedin, the Scotch capital of Otago. The uninviting looking harbour of the Bluff, where the traveller may touch the most southerly lamppost in the world, lies opposite to Stewart's Island, and is separated from it by Foveaux Strait, one of the most extensive oyster beds in the world. There are several fine harbours in Stewart Island, especially the spacious port of Paterson's Inlet, full of coves and bays.

Yachts bent on visiting the sounds should be warned that a strong current consequent on the quantity of water pouring down from the mountain torrents is usually found to oppose the entrance of a yacht into each sound, and that it is very rarely that the wind blows strong enough to bring yachts in. Generally speaking, within a mile of the entrance a dead calm with heavy swell will be found, rendering it both difficult and dangerous to make the entrance.

Once inside the depth is so great that, except where a river runs in at the head, there is little chance of anchorage, and the vessel must be made fast by tying her to a tree.

There is land communication with one sound (Milford) alone, and that only by a foot track. One or two men manage to eke out a hermit's existence in certain of the sounds, but are chiefly dependent on the periodical visits of the Government steamer; otherwise the only living things on the land are the wingless kiwis and kakapos, and an occasional seal lying upon the rocks. Probably no one visiting New Zealand will care to omit a trip to these sounds; but let the yachtsman leave his vessel snugly berthed in the harbour of Lyttelton or Port Chalmers, and pin his faith to the screws of the Union Steamship Company's well-found vessels, rather than to the sails of his own craft.

For a yachting expedition to New Zealand the month of January, February, March, or April should be chosen. During these months in the northern parts of the colony and on the coast a N.E. sea breeze sets in daily about ten in the morning, and dying away at sunset is succeeded by a westerly or land wind. The yachtsman may generally reckon on these winds; but if the land wind should not set in towards evening the sea breeze may increase to a gale, when he can remain safe at his anchorage till it has blown itself out--a proceeding which generally occupies not more than twenty-four hours. These gales occur on an average but once in six weeks, and should be looked for when the moon changes or comes to the full.

I have already spoken of the winds of Cook's Strait; those likely to be met with between it and Banks Peninsula will be chiefly north-easterly and light in summer. Southerly and south-easterly gales, known as 'southerly busters,' often last three days, and bring cold rain and dirty weather. Very strong, hot north-westers blow across the Canterbury plains to Banks Peninsula, and are particularly drying and unpleasant. Their approach can generally be foretold by a remarkable clearness of the atmosphere, and an arch of cloud over the Southern Alps, showing blue sky between the cloud and the snow peaks.

The climate in the central and southern parts of the colony is remarkably like that of Great Britain, with more wind and more sunshine, while the northern part resembles that of the shores of Europe washed by the Mediterranean. Indeed, if one takes the map of New Zealand and turns it upside down, imagining the two islands joined together at Cook's Strait, its general similarity in outline and configuration to Italy will at once become apparent. The Southern Alps, the Spencer Mountains, and the Ruahine Mountains, like the Alps and Apennines in Italy, form the head and backbone of the country. The rich plains of Otago and Canterbury answer to those of Lombardy and the Campagna, while the palms and fern-trees of Auckland wave against a sky as blue as that of Naples.

The coast is more indented, the harbours more spacious than those of the Mediterranean; the islands in the north are more numerous, and though the winds blow stronger and the sea runs higher when gales come on, the weather is far less treacherous than that of the Mediterranean, and gives better warning of its approach. For those who wish to enjoy two summers without a winter, to see some of the most remarkable natural phenomena of the world, and the most interesting and most developed savage race with which Englishmen have come in contact; to explore fresh waters; to find an ample supply of good provisions, suited to European requirements; to live among fellow-countrymen who will assuredly give a hearty and hospitable welcome, and to realise something of the extent, the variety and the vastness of the Queen's Empire, I can suggest no better nor more enjoyable cruise during the English winter months than one round the beautiful islands of Antipodean Britain.